The night was perfect...15 extremely talented
poets came out, some 300 plus spectators, fans and poetry lovers were in
attendance, jam packing the Nuyorican Poets
Cafe until the cafe was "squeezing room only"

The host was none other than Bryonn Bain (The
Nuyorican 2000 Grand Slam Champion).

Bryonn's was an excellent host, he carried the
audience throughout the long night with humor, charm and intellect. You would
have to be there to fully grasp this description, but basically he did a great
Job.

The night started out with some uncertainties
because half of the contestants were missing in action. Only 9 poets were in the
house when the event was about to start. Decisions had to be made. Several
announcements were made for anyone interested in slamming to see Tehut-Nine or
Bryonn.

With that out of the way. Tehut-Nine was called
to the stage. He welcomed the audience, the contestants, and announced the
sponsors. As a treat to the audience Tehut-Nine performed a short medley with
two poems from his upcoming book "Mental Eye-roglyphics" which will be available
for purchase in Jan. 2001 at WWW.SUNRASON.COM.
The crowd was warmed up, but it was about to get hot! as Bryonn prepared to
bring up the featured Poet.

The Feature was none other than the exceptional,
the beautiful Thema Bryant winner of the 2000 SLAM QUEEN Poetry Contest produced
by Sun-Ra-Son Prod, Co. back in November. She was magnificent and the crowd
loved her, she wooed them with her words and passion, setting the mood for
night.

It was about 11:15pm and now we were ready to get
the slam going. The sacrificial goat did his thing but a tough set of judges
(mostly females) were not giving up anything easy, his tally was a 16.1

However in the middle of his performance two more
poets walked in, they were none other than the skilful wordsmith D'the
Schizophrenic and the Mighty Talaam Acey. After consulting with several poets as
to whether they wanted to redraw numbers,for the order everyone would go in.
Contestants rejected the idea of redrawing for numbers, because they were happy
with the number(order they would go in) they had so D' the Schizo decided to be
14 and Talaam 15.

Wasting no time after the sacrificial goat was
finished the first round was on it way. The results were

That was the first round, the second round would
only include the top 5 who were. Jamaal St. John, Faraji, Curtis, Flowmentalz,
Talaam The audience was enjoying the night as Tehut-Nine gave Bryonn T-Shirts
from Ecko Unlimited and Moshood, Calendars from Shadez Communications, Tapes and
CD's from Barry U and Superpower records, Posters, etc...to give away to the
audience. Bryonn also gave away candies, Books and Cd's which were contributed
by poets in attendance.

The second round got on the way and the
contestants were not holding any punches, it was fierce.

The last round was supposed to have only the top
three, but Talaam and Jamaal Tied for that spot and so the third round moved on
with Four finalist. The contestants once again drew numbers from Tehut-Nine's
hat to determine their order and the results were

1. Jamaal St. John
2. Talaam Acey
3. Faraji Salim
4. Flowmentalz.

With the exception of Jamaal St. John, everybody
in this last round was from New Jersey. Newark(Brick City) was definitely
feeling proud. The third round began and the audience was locked in, it was late
but nobody was leaving their seats, to go anywhere. Jamaal went into his war
chest and pulled out a big gun, that only fired nukes. His recital was vital,
and his poem was explosive, by the time he walked off the stage everyone's mouth
was on the floor, you could hear thoughts building themselves to say "Damn That
Poem Was The BOMB" and indeed it was. The judges gave Jamaal a 29.7 Talaam Acey
was up next. Now Talaam is a poetry god, make no mistake about that. He is
easily one of the most talented poets and writers in the U.S.A.

When Talaam took to the stage you could feel the
energy in the room. It was about to get hot as if winter wasn't even happening.
The good deacon started speaking and the Nuyorican was enjoying it. His poem was
performed with passion and soul. Talaam drew the audience into his world and
captivated them. His performance was powerful, the judges gave him a 29.5

Next up was Faraji Salim, the griot for the new
millenium. All night Faraji was rocking the house, from his first poem to his
last, he was consistent, scoring higher and higher in each round. Faraji placed
his legs firmly and took hold of the audience's mind and showed them that he was
well endowed with deep thoughts and armed with verbal dexterity. I was very
moved by his poem which was very thought provoking, the Judges were equally
impressed. They gave him a 29.5

Finally Flowmentalz, came to the stage. I heard
the judges beside me saying, "Oh, it's the Drama Man" they were definitely
excited. Flowmentalz, has a special extra special way of marrying information
with inspiration. He makes you laugh and listen. His last poem was loved by the
crowd as he talked about boxing with God. The Nuyorican was definitely feeling
him, the judges gave him a 29.2

The slam was over. The results were close, but
the winner and 2000 King of Slam is "The wordplay caster, Metaphor Master"
JAMAAL ST. JOHN.. Talaam and Faraji Tied for 2nd & 3rd place.

As the Winner Jamaal received the following:

-$100.00 cash
-A nextel cell phone
-A back pack from Ecko Unlimited
-Several Shirts from Moshood, and Ecko
-2001 Calendar from Shadez Communications
-Tapes and CD's from Barry U and Super Power Records
-A Gift Certificate with Kevin
Powell's New Book "Step into a world" courtesy of Indigo Cafe & Books
-Colin Channer's Book,
"Waiting In Vain" and the new Anthology "Got To Be Real" Courtesy of Colin
Channer

Talaam & Faraji also received gifts:
-Shirts from Ecko Unlimited
-Colin Channer's book
"Waiting in Vain"

The Hosts and Feature were also awarded T-Shirts
from Moshood and Ecko Unlimited, etc...

The night ended and we all went home. Stay tuned
for more upcoming Sun-Ra-Son events. Get Tehut-Nine's New Book "Mental
Eye-roglyphics" which will be available for purchase Jan. 2001 online at
WWW.SUNRASON.COM. If you would like to mail order you can send $15.00 Check
or money order to: